1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a subassembly for a cockpit of a motor vehicle. The present invention also relates to a method of producing a subassembly for a cockpit of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
German Patent document DE 197 53 877 discloses a cockpit for motor vehicles having an air-conditioning system arranged in the area of the center console and underneath a crossmember, with the crossmember serving as an air guide duct. For this purpose, the crossmember is formed of a hollow design and has dividing walls to feed the air to the different air outlet openings, namely the defrost outlet, side outlets and center outlet. The complete integration of the crossmember into the cockpit and air-conditioning system has a number of disadvantages. A crossmember of this type must have a very complicated shape, since it must have dividing walls which are shaped and arranged aerodynamically in order to guide the air from the air-conditioning system to the outlets without a major pressure loss. For example during the development of the vehicle model, or in the event of a model change to the vehicle, it may be necessary to change the air-conditioning system and the air guides may therefore need to be changed. Thus, the internal construction of the crossmember would have to be adapted to the new air-conditioning system which could involve complicated modifications. The crossmember must also be shaped with an aesthetic form, since the outlet openings are visible from the interior of the vehicle. Crossmembers, which typically extend between the A columns of a motor vehicle and hold the cockpit, are generally formed of metal because of its rigidity. Since the metal crossmember conducts heat well, during the feed of warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer into the interior of the vehicle, in the German Patent, the crossmember first has its temperature controlled and only then does air at the desired temperature emerge from the crossmember into the vehicle cavity. Also, condensation of humidity in the crossmember can occur in hot and moist climatic zones, which is undesirable and may lead to corrosion and unpleasant odors due to the formation of bacteria. Overall, the air-conditioning system of the German Patent cannot be fabricated without the crossmember on the vehicle side.
European Patent No. 713,798 discloses a dashboard arrangement which includes three main components: an air-conditioning system which is open toward the top, a shell-like component which forms the upwardly open air guide ducts from the air-conditioning system to side outlets, center outlets and the defrost outlet, and a decorative part, visible from the interior of the vehicle, which closes the open top of the air-conditioning system and air guide ducts. The European Patent relates to the combination of air-conditioning system and air guidance system with the decorative covering. The air-conditioning system and the air guide paths are determined by the design of the covering decorative part such that the functioning of the air-conditioning system and the design of the dashboard must be changed or coordinated together. It may then occur that, because of design configurations, the air-conditioning system may operate inadequately. Furthermore, this arrangement can only function as an air-conditioning unit.